Do I really need a Google Home Mini? I have a Pixel XL and my husband has a LG G5, which recently got the Google Assistant, so it’s not as if the Google Assistant isn’t already in the house.

When my husband’s G5 got the assistant, he wasn’t going to turn it on, and I was a bit surprised when he did. The first thing he did was change the voice to the male version, which is what I did the moment I found out you could. He then began playing with the assistant, making it turn lights off and on, playing music and making a phone call. He followed this with telling me he wasn’t sure he needed it. I laughed, because I don’t think anybody actually needs he assistant. However, the assistant does come in handy.

I use the Google Assistant mostly in the car. My car has Bluetooth in the dash, which is what I use to make calls, so I use the assistant mostly for music. I can skip a song, play the previous song or continue playing the music I had previously paused. It’s great not to have to pick up the phone to perform any of these tasks. I’ve even used the Good morning command to hear the news. The assistant isn’t a necessity, but it does make it safer to play music while in the car.

While at home, I used the assistant to turn the lights on or off. It’s not something I have to do often, especially since the living room light is set to come on at sundown and turn off at one in the morning. The light in the dining room isn’t on a timer, so voice commands for the dining room light is useful. We’ll probably use the assistant more as more of the lights are converted to smart bulbs or switches.

Although my husband still isn’t sure he’s going to keep the assistant, I think he will. And since our phones can pick up our voices from across the room, does that make getting a Home Mini a bit redundant? At the moment I can’t see an added benefit to a Home Mini.